Great Ocean Conveyor

The great ocean conveyor is a system is another name for the phenomenon "thermohaline circulation", which occurs deep within the ocean and works to redistribute the sun's heat throughout the world. If this were to slow down or stop, places at the same latitude around the world would have the same temperature. It is caused by differences in density of sea water. The conveyor belt plays a crucial role in helping shape Earth's climate. The Great Ocean Conveyor in part caused the younger dryas. Glaciers melted in North America and torrents of fresh water were released into the ocean, stopping the conveyor belt and causing ice-age like conditions. This in part caused the transition into herding and farming because during Ice Age conditions, one would want to plan ahead and have a dependable food source. Today, ice caps, especially Greenland, are being monitored because the same thing could occur very soon if global warming continues. For more information on the conveyor, visit http://www.enviroliteracy.org/article.php/545.html. For more information on the conveyor's effect on us today, visit http://www.wunderground.com/resources/climate/abruptclimate.asp and http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2004/05mar_arctic/.